Plutus Payroll pays people after Senator writes to Australian Taxation Office

But court date delayed again and superannuation payments are still in limbo

No-longer-AWOL payroll provider Plutus has, as promised, started paying people again.

The company pledged to do so on Wednesday after nearly two weeks during which a dispute with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) saw its bank accounts frozen.

That dispute is not over, but the ATO has permitted salary payments to flow from Plutus' bank accounts. Perhaps co-incidentally, that decision came after Labor senator Doug Cameron started to champion the cause of Plutus' customers. The senator took to his Facebook page to announce he had written to the ATO “expressing our concerns asking for them to take all necessary steps to ensure that the contractors who are owed money get paid.”

Plutus customers have contacted The Register to confirm that money has indeed landed in their bank accounts. None have mailed, or posted to the private social media group for Plutus customers, to say they've received incorrect amounts.

But superannuation payments are yet to flow. As such payments can be made quarterly, they're not due for several weeks. But The Register understands the arrangement with the ATO means Plutus has been permitted to pay wages, not superannuation.

Contractors are therefore not assured of receiving all the money they're owed. And Plutus is no closer to resolving its dispute with the ATO – a planned Federal Court hearing today has been shifted to next Tuesday. ®